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There May Be an Asterisk Involved
t was an interesting office; most ad agencies are. When youre building a place for people to sit and think up creative ways to sell toothpaste for twelve hours a day, you try to make it fun. So apart from the regulation display case for all the advertising awards the agency had won over the years, the J. McCarthy office also had a pool table in the lobby, beanbags to sprawl on and a small glass cabin where you could go and scream quietly when you started getting scary daydreams about dancing sanitary napkins. Ira Bhat, copywriter by day, sleep-deprived copywriter by night, has only one goal: to not go utterly bonkers as she negotiates the perils and pitfalls of a career in advertising. These include, but are not limited to: comma-obsessed clients, award-obsessed bosses, obnoxious marketing executives, high-strung creative types, impossible deadlines, obscure briefs, fiercely competitive colleagues, the death of many a big idea...and the ever-present danger of falling in love with the new account planner. Sounds doable. But is it?Because, when it comes to advertising, somewhere, hidden in the fine print, there may be an asterisk involved
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Double Cross
From the man the Sunday Telegraph called the 'master of the suspense genre' comes the next high-velocity thriller in the Alex Cross series - James Patterson and Alex Cross fans cannot wait to read DOUBLE CROSS. Alex Cross rejoins the DC police force to confront two of the most diabolical killers he's ever encountered. Just when Alex's life is calming down, he is drawn back into the game to confront a criminal mastermind like no other. The elaborate murders that have stunned Washington, DC, are the wildest that Alex and his new girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, have ever seen. This maniac adores an audience, and stages his killings as spectacles in public settings. Alex is pursuing a genius of terror who has the whole city on edge as it waits for his next move. And the killer loves the attention, no doubt – he even sets up his own website and live video feed to trumpet his madness. And in Colorado, another criminal mastermind is planning a triumphant return. From his supermaximum-security prison cell, Kyle Craig has plotted for years to have one chance at an impossible escape. If he has to join forces with DC’s Audience Killer to get back at the man who put him in that cell – Alex Cross – all the better.
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The Bone Garden
BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Tess Gerritsen's The Silent Girl. Unknown bones, untold secrets, and unsolved crimes from the distant past cast ominous shadows on the present in the dazzling new thriller from New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen. Present day: Julia Hamill has made a horrifying discovery on the grounds of her new home in rural Massachusetts: a skull buried in the rocky soil–human, female, and, according to the trained eye of Boston medical examiner Maura Isles, scarred with the unmistakable marks of murder. But whoever this nameless woman was, and whatever befell her, is knowledge lost to another time. . . . Boston, 1830: In order to pay for his education, Norris Marshall, a talented but penniless student at Boston Medical College, has joined the ranks of local “resurrectionists”–those who plunder graveyards and harvest the dead for sale on the black market. Yet even this ghoulish commerce pales beside the shocking murder of a nurse found mutilated on the university hospital grounds. And when a distinguished doctor meets the same grisly fate, Norris finds that trafficking in the illicit cadaver trade has made him a prime suspect. To prove his innocence, Norris must track down the only witness to have glimpsed the killer: Rose Connolly, a beautiful seamstress from the Boston slums who fears she may be the next victim. Joined by a sardonic, keenly intelligent young man named Oliver Wendell Holmes, Norris and Rose comb the city–from its grim cemeteries and autopsy suites to its glittering mansions and centers of Brahmin power–on the trail of a maniacal fiend who lurks where least expected . . . and who waits for his next lethal opportunity. With unflagging suspense and pitch-perfect period detail, The Bone Garden deftly interweaves the thrilling narratives of its nineteenth- and twenty-first century protagonists, tracing the dark mystery at its heart across time and place to a finale as ingeniously conceived as it is shocking. Bold, bloody, and brilliant, this is Tess Gerritsen’s finest achievement to date. "An old mystery is crossed with a modern story in the latest from Gerritsen (The Mephisto Club, 2006, etc.).Julia Hamill, newly divorced and still smarting, purchases an old house outside Boston. Determined to dig a garden, she instead finds the bones of a long-dead woman–the apparent victim of murder–which starts her on a journey to ferret out the story behind her death. Julia connects with Henry, a no-nonsense 89-year-old with boxes of documents that once belonged to the now-deceased previous owner of Julia’s home. The two discover a mystery dating back to the 1830s. At the heart of it is a baby named Meggie, born to the beautiful but doomed Irish chambermaid, Aurnia. Married to a man who cares nothing for her, Aurnia lays dying in a maternity ward with her sister, Rose, at her side. Rose, a spirited 17-year-old, takes Meggie to protect her from Aurnia’s husband, but soon finds herself the target of a bizarre manhunt. Someone is after the child–and Rose, as well, because she witnessed a horrifying murder. The body count piles up as Rose struggles to remain free of those who would take Meggie from her. Meanwhile, a young medical student becomes the chief suspect of the West End Reaper killings when he stumbles onto another terrible homicide. Although he fights the prospect, eventually he and Rose join forces to solve the murders and protect the baby at the heart of the mysterious deaths. Readers with delicate stomachs may find Gerritsen’s graphic descriptions of corpse dissection hard to take, but the story, which digs up a dark Boston of times long past, entices readers to keep turning pages long after their bedtimes." - Kirkus Reviews (starred)
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The Hope Factory
An international event: a remarkable first novel of modern India, weaving together a rich tapestry of social manners and mores, ambition, greed, and love, which will establish Lavanya Sankaran as one of the most gifted and original writers of fiction today. Bangalore: where innocence, deceit and love collide Anand is a Bangalore success story: successful, well-married, rich. At least, that's how he appears. But if his little factory is to grow, he needs land and money and, in the New India, neither of these is easy to find. Kamala, Anand's family's maid, lives perilously close to the edge of disaster. She and her clever teenage son have almost nothing, and their small hopes for self-betterment depend on the contentment of Anand's wife: a woman to whom whims come easily. But Kamala's son keeps bad company. Anand's marriage is in trouble. And the murky world where crime and land and politics meet is a dangerous place for a good man, particularly one on whom the wellbeing of so many depends.
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Love, Sex and Respect: A Guide to Healthy Relation
Love Sex & Respect is an astonishingly bold and provocative book which explores sexuality in contemporary urban culture. Each chapter provokes readers to examine their relationships. Those who are entering into a relationship will want to know how to make it work and those who are experiencing cooling off, boredom, drifting apart and other troublesome issues will want quick solutions. The author brings you face-to-face with deceit and duplicity as well as beauty and respect which exist in relationships. CEDRIC M. KENNY offers valuable tips to deal effectively with sensitive issues couples face and don't know whom to turn to for advice. You will want to recommend Love Sex & Respect to people you care...
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Amreekandesi: Masters of America
A witty and satirical tale of two young Indian students in US searching for their versions of the fabled American Dream Akhil Arora, a young, dorky engineer in Delhi, cant wait to get away from home and prove to his folks that he can be on his own. Meanwhile in a small town in Punjab, Jaspreet Singh, aka Jassi, is busy dreaming of a life straight out of American Pie. As fate would have it, they end up as roommates in Florida. But the two boys are poles apart in their perspectives and expectations of America. While Akhil is fiercely patriotic and hopes to come back to India in a few years, Jassi finds his Indian identity an uncomfortable burden and looks forward to finding an American girl with whom he can live happily ever after. Laced with funny anecdotes and witty insights, Amreekandesi chronicles the quintessential immigrant experience, highlighting the clash of cultures, the search for identity, and the quest for survival in a foreign land.
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Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Interne
The Internet has led to revolutions across the world but a crackdown is now in full swing. As whole societies move online, mass surveillance programs are being deployed globally. Our civilization has reached a crossroads. In one direction lies a future promoting "privacy for the weak and transparency for the powerful"; in the other is an internet that transfers power over entire populations to an unaccountable complex of spy agencies and their transnational corporate allies. Cypherpunks are activists who advocate the mass use of strong cryptography as a way protecting our basic freedoms against this onslaught. Julian Assange, the editor-in-chief of and visionary behind WikiLeaks, has been a leading voice in the cypherpunk movement since the 1990s. Now, in a timely and important new book, Assange brings together a group of rebel thinkers and activists from the front line of the battle for cyberspace to discuss whether the internet will emancipate or enslave all of us.
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The Rozabal Line
The Rozabal Line is the debut novel of Ashwin Sanghi. The author has taken up the creative liberty of using various religious facts in order to whip up an epic fictional thriller. Sanghi speculates that Jesus Christ survived the crucifixion and spent his missing years in India, and that the men searching for Jesus were Buddhist Monks who were searching for the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. He mentions that the lost tribes of Israel may have settled in Kashmir. The author also introduces St. Thomas as one of Jesus’s closest friends and Mary Magdalene as a woman from the ancient Mauryan Empire headed by Ashoka. The book further features terrorist attacks that share some parallels with the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Sanghi’s hypothesis goes on to establish that Jesus’s descendants are today’s Kashmiri Islamists. The author draws some similar lines between the fate of a group of terrorists and that of Jesus and his 12 apostles. The book traces the roots of various religions and states that all their origins are closely knit. The Rozabal Line was first published in 2007 under Sanghi's pseudonym Shawn Haigins in the United States. The revised edition was later published in India under Sanghi’s own name in 2008 before Westland published it in 2010. India Today ranked The Rozabal Line as one the top five bestselling fictional works in India. The Rozabal Line has received favourable reviews from national dailies such as The Hindu and Tehelka as well.
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Puppy Love
Hercules is a dachshund, and his new mistress Caroline is the greatest human being on earth. She's the one who rescued him from the animal shelter, who smells of summer and strawberries, and who laughs when the little pup snuggles up with her on the sofa. So when Caroline is badly treated by her bossy, dog-hating boyfriend, Hercules decides it's high time he rescued his mistress for a change. And so begins an epic quest to find his favourite woman the perfect man. Touching, original, and very funny, Puppy Love is a story about love, life, and the best friend a girl could ever have.
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King Of Lanka ( Book 4 of Return Of Ravana)
This is the fourth book in The Return Of Ravana series by David Hair. The Ramayana is a story of ancient times. It happened ages ago; it is a story that ended with the vanquishing of the tyrannical king of Lanka. He is dead and gone, and his evil influence has been crushed forever, never to return. Or is it? Is Ravana still lurking around in another form, waiting to rise to the heights of his power again, and reclaim his lost kingdom? Four teenagers find out that Ravana is not just a story, he is not just an ancient memory, that he is still around, still attempting to reclaim what was once his. In each of their past lives, these four (Vikram, Amanjit, Rasita, and Deepika) have had to face him and have been killed by him. Now, in the 21st century, Ravindra, who is Ravana in a new form, is after them again. They have seen him before, have had to confront him in past lives, and he has been their nemesis many times. But this time, he seems to be nearer to fulfilling his ambition, to reclaim Ravana’s throne. In this fourth book, Ravindra has imprisoned Rasita, and if his plans go well, he will realize all his dreams. And, his triumph seems inevitable this time. But the four friends, because of their recent experiences, have begun to find hidden powers deep within them, they are awakening to new potential they have discovered in themselves, and will not give up without a fight. But, he will not be easy to vanquish, and he is fired by ambition that has been thwarted for centuries. So, the scene is set for one final confrontation, the epic battle of Ramayana is to be fought again, in a 21st century setting, a confrontation which the four friends must win, or Ravana will have returned to power forever.avid and Kerry have two children, Brendan and Melissa and they live in Wellington, New Zealand.
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Souls in Exile (Book 3 of The Return Of Ravana)
Bollywood actress Sunita Ashoka's reality show Swayamvara Live has ended in bloodshed and disaster. Vikram, Amanjit and Rasita are on the run, accused of the actress' murder. Exiled like the heroes of the Ramayana, they are seemingly beset by the same perils, especially when Vikram encounters an unlikely temptress. Then another tragedy, also foretold in the Ramayana, forces Vikram into the open. But there is hope: Amanjit's skills as a warrior are returning, Rasita is beginning to remember her own past lives, and Deepika is awakening to powers undreamt. But the Enemy, Ravindra, has also found allies?the nightmarish Rakshasa army. Memories and legends are coming alive all over India, from the bloodied sands of Ullal and the fortress of Jhansi to secret places in Mumbai, Pushkar and Varanasi. The fight to the finish has begun . . .
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Swayamvara (Book 2 of The Return of Ravana )
Mumbai, October 2010: Bollywood actress Sunita Ashoka will marry the man who wins her hand in Swayamvara Live, a reality show on television. Vikram Khandavani decides to participate, for he needs to draw out his nemesis Ravindra. It’s a deadly gamble, one that could cost him everything and everyone he loves. North India, 1175: King Prithviraj Chauhan is about to storm the swayamvara of the beautiful Sanyogita. But Ravindra is coming, riding at the side of a fierce invader. Only Vikram, in his life as Chand Bardai, stands between Ravindra and all the thrones of India. In the second book of the engrossing The Return of Ravana series the action oscillates from the floodlit studios of Mumbai to the glittering Rajput courts, while Vikram-Chand and his friends battle an age-old adversary whose power is growing like never before .
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Pyre of Queens (Book 1 of The Return of Ravana )
Mandore, Rajasthan, 769 AD: Ravindra-Raj, the evil sorcerer-king, devises a deadly secret ritual, where he and his seven queens will burn on his pyre, and he will rise again with the powers of Ravana, demon-king of the epic Ramayana. But things go wrong when one queen, the beautiful, spirited Darya, escapes with the help of Aram Dhoop, the court poet. Jodhpur, Rajasthan, 2010: At the site of ancient Mandore, teenagers Vikram, Amanjit, Deepika and Rasita meet and realize that the deathless king and his ghostly brides are hunting them down. As vicious forces from the past come alive, they need to unlock truths that have been hidden for centuries, and fight an ancient battle . . . one more time.
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The Second Empress
1810. Palais des Tuileries, France. As a princess of the Holy Roman Empire, Marie-Louise Habsburg knows the importance of family loyalty. So when her father asks her to save his crown by marrying a foreign stranger twice her age she has no choice but to obey. But when she arrives in Paris it becomes clear that Marie-Louise will have to fight for a place in her new husbands affections. Between a scorned first wife determined to hold on to her title and a fiendishly devious sister-in-law, will the young princess ever be able to win her rightful place at court
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A Delicate Truth
A counter-terror operation, codenamed Wildlife, is being mounted in Britain's most precious colony. Its purpose: to capture and abduct a high-value jihadist arms-buyer. Its authors: an ambitious Foreign Office Minister, and a private defence contractor who is also his close friend. So delicate is the operation that even the Minister's private secretary, Toby Bell, is not cleared for it.
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Cracked
There are some people you shouldn’t anger’ Ever since my mom was murdered, I’ve been completely alone. I live in the shadows, because there’s no one like me. I have no choice because I have to fight the Hunger, the Hunger that drives me to hunt people and eat their souls. And I have to fight it if I want to stay out of the darkness. Who am I? I’m Meda Melange. What am I? I don’t know—but I’m not human. And now, I finally have the chance to find out. In this first book of the gripping Soul Eater trilogy, find out who Meda is and which side she will come down on in a thrilling tale of the war between good and evil.
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A Cold Blooded Business
KATE SHUGAK is a native Aleut working as a private investigator in Alaska. She's 5 foot 1 inch tall, carries a scar that runs from ear to ear across her throat and owns half-wolf, half-husky dog named Mutt. Resourceful, strong-willed, defiant, Kate is tougher than your average heroine and she needs to be to survive the worst the Alaskan wilds can throw at her. A COLD BLOODED BUSINESS Its March. Someone is selling drugs to the employees of a Prudhoe Bay oil field company, and the company hires Kate to go undercover and apprehend the dealer. But coke isnt the only illegal substance being dealt..
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Karma
Maya never wanted to go to India. She wanted a best friend, a boyfriend, and a mother who wasn’t always immersed in grief. Instead, Maya is on a plane from Canada flying halfway around the world with none of those things - only a diary, a pen and an urn. It’s 31 October 1984. Just hours after Maya arrives in Delhi with her father Amar Singh, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is gunned down by her bodyguards. The assassination sparks riots as Sikh families are killed in retribution. During this chaos Amar disappears and Maya escapes by train to an ancient desert town. She loses her voice but finds a friend in Sandeep who offers her empathy and bonding in the aftermath of hatred and violence. A powerful coming-of-age novel, Karma is the story of how a young girl facing the demands of two cultures, endures personal tragedy yet learns forgiveness, acceptance and love. Maya and Sandeep invite the reader to look inside their diaries where in beautiful free verse entries they reveal an intimate world of secrets, confessions and longings.
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The Thief
The latest thrilling Isaac Bell adventure from Top 10 bestseller Clive Cussler Aboard the liner Mauretania, Isaac Bell, chief investigator at legendary Van Dorn Detective Agency, thwarts a kidnapping. The victims, who have fled Europe carrying a secret invention, fear a foreign power will steal it before they reach America. Bell offers to protect them. Soon, Bell is fighting skulduggery in the middle of the Atlantic. Heading for California, the chase is on. On their trail is the murderous 'Acrobat', instructed to steal this world-changing invention - and kill anyone in his way..
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Seventeen and Done
Rinki has everything she needs to go crazy with: bickering boys, a bitchy grandma, boring books, and the Biggest B of them all: Board Exams. Rinki and her wolf pack are back in action. And they have company in the form of Google (Mr Know-it-all) and Adit (Mr Goody Two-shoes). At last, Rinki has her wish fulfilled. She has two boys fighting over her, er, mostly with her! Meanwhile, Rinki’s brand new grandmother, Mausiji, is raising hell at home. Her dad (lucky fellow!) is away in Coimbatore. And it’s all up to Rinki to cool tempers down. At school, things are no better. Board Exams are looming large and Princy is making her feel smaller than ever. Her grades are shrinking and her waistline is growing. School life is about to get over, but not before things get a lot more crazy. Read the next instalment in the Rinki series and discover why turning seventeen is no walk in the park!
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Venus on Fire Mars on Ice: The Key to Life, Love,
nce again John Gray uses his signature insight into relationship dynamics to help Martians and Venusians not only understand and accept their differences, but grow in love and under-standing while improving the quality of their lives. Some recent and very exciting scientific discoveries have proven that the differences between the sexes and how they relate tenor another are biochemically based, and can be explained by... our hormones! John provides simple tips and the practical knowledge you need to ensure a steady supply of feel-good hormones for you and your partner. Venus on Fire Mars on Ice provides groundbreaking insight into: The unique ways that each gender deals with stress. How the stress hormones harm our health and complicate our ability to relate to one another. The important role of "superfoods" and good nutrition in replenishing hormones. Why menopause and "man-oipause"-- don't have robe the relationship stressors they currently are. How balancing our blood sugar is intricately connected to balancing our hormones. How achieving hormonal balance will not only improve our relationships bat give us the strength and energy to cope with the challenges of our modern lifestyles. In Venus on Fire Mars on Ice, John Gray shares essential elements of wellness, happiness, and lasting passion, revealing the keys to natural health and restoring vitality.